First Hand Account

October 02, 2018

So we did a thing this week... a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Through a very boring story, my family and I got invited to greet President Trump as he exited Air Force 1 in Johnson City. It was a pretty amazing experience that I am so grateful to have the opportunity to participate in.

One thing about our current president, most likely, you either love him or hate him. Not very many fence riders these days. I will say this about him. He's done what he said he would. Something else I will say; he supports law enforcement. That's why I am writing today. I hate politics. I despise them but I understand them and I know how they make hypocrites out of the best of us. I know that there are people that love our current president without question and have no problem with him playing golf often but hated our former president and made statements like, "he plays golf too much". I know there are those that hate our current president and say he racist because he is strong on borders, but loved our former president(s) when they said the same thing. There are more examples but you get the picture.

But none of that matters to me today because I just want to share a first hand story of our current president:
We were the first to greet him after the "important" people (Bill Haslam, Bill Lee, and Marsha Blackburn). He walked straight up to my son-in-law, Ryan, to shake his hand. Ryan had been planning his meeting with the president from the time he found out he would get to see him. He had packed his pockets with patches and intended on giving the President one. As President Trump approached, Ryan held out a "156" patch and handed it to him. He took it, held it with both hands and asked, "What's the significance of this?"

I want to pause the story here and explain the current situation. We were positioned on the railing in front. Behind us were a hundred or more, not so fortunate, people who had brought hats, signs and other things to be autographed and they were screaming and pushing and holding these items out for him to sign. With all this going on, President Trump looked Ryan in the eye while asking his question. It wasn't a rhetorical question to seem interested while I ham it up with the fans. So Ryan responded quickly with an explanation of Kenny Moats, 156, and the fact that he had died in the line of duty.

The president, while still focused on Ryan, took the patch and gripped it and kind of shook it while saying with a nod, "Please tell his family I am sorry and they have my gratitude." He then stuck out his hand and shook Ryan's before moving on down the line signing and talking to just about everyone. What a moment!

Some may think this is political but honestly it just feels so refreshing to have a president that loves and supports those in law enforcement the way that I do. They are not infallible but the majority are honorable. And I can promise you that the honorable are just as exhausted with those that fail as you are.

While speaking with someone today about my experience they explained that their husband(who is a law enforcement officer) met Vice President Pence a few weeks ago when he was in Knoxville. She said that the Vice President shook his hand, leaned in close and said, "You know we have your back, right?" If that doesn't fit your political leaning then I am very sorry to say that we may not agree on too many important issues. I still remember when some of my Facebook acquaintances were making fun of VP Pence because he wouldn't eat a meal alone with a woman that wasn't his wife. Those same people are crucifying Judge Kavanaugh today because of an accusation against him by a woman who isn't his wife.

I guess in our current social climate, it's good to have a first hand experience to share that, regardless of your political beliefs, you can't really challenge. I was there. I saw it. I heard it. I experienced it.

I worry for my grandson. I worry for the very same social political climate that I have been describing. It's difficult today to have conversations with people with opposing views because of the hate. There is no middle anymore. And honestly, the middle is where you learn. My prayer is that his mom and dad love him, take him to church, teach him about Christ and how to treat others with respect. That way when he gets in the real world and hears that "Evangelicals" are evil and hate people. When he hears that Christians are this and that. He can know that people can say what they will, but it won't change us. We will love Jesus. We will respect and love all people. And we will continue on.

Oh and two more things.
1. If there had been an opportunity for me to meet President Obama, don't think for a minute that I wouldn't have been standing there, in awe of the moment, waiting to shake his hand and tell you about that experience.

2. My future daughter-in-law, was bold enough to ask for a picture. He was gracious enough to stop and say, "sure, but quickly" and here is that picture. Probably didn't hurt that she is tall and blonde.